Improvement in railway switches



-"2,) WILLIAM LI MARTIN.

' Witnesses:

' Improvement ih Railroad Switches.y

No. 122,271. I Y PaInIfIcIDI, .:26,I87I.4

I Attorneys.

i drawing, in which- WILLIAM L. MARTIN, or RII-LMI, MISSISSIPPI.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY SWITCHES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. MARTIN, of Rienzi, in the county of Alcorn and in the State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad Switch and Chair; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference bcing had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon making a part of this specification. I

The nature of my invention consists in the con. struction and arrangement of a railroad switchand chair, as will be hereinafter more fullyY set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its oonstruction and operation, referring to the annexed Figure l is a plan view of my railroad switch and chair. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a rail with chair at the end; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged representation of the railroad chair at the switch.

A A represent the rails of the main track; B

. B and C U, the rails of the side tracks; and D D,

the switch-rails. E E represent the tics, which in the usual switches are not connected together on account, of the switch-rails movin g on the same. These ties I connect, either on one or both sides of each switch-rail, with a rail, G, eX- tending over the same ties as the switch-rails, and iirmly spiked to the saine. The rails G G, which I-call check-rails, may be any old rails unfit for other service. They hold the ties firmly inposition. Heretofore the ties under the switchrails very often came loose and twisted around out of their placesfrom not being connected; but by theuse ofthe check-rails this difticulty is avoided. When placed between the switch-rails the check-rails G G also answer the purpose of keeping the switch-rails down to the ties. The switchrails D D are connected in the usual manner by rods a a, which pass under the inner checkrails Gr G. When the front wheels of a locomo-l .down to the ties.

tive or car strike the ends ofthe switch-rails it has a tendency to throw the other ends upward; but by passing the rods a a under the check-rails this cannot happen, andthe switch-rails are held At the ends of the switchrails D D are chairs H and I, into which `the ends of all the rails at these points are inserted and secured, the object being to prevent the ,jamming of the switch by expansion and the disjointin g of the switch by contraction. These chairs are let into the ties--th at is, the bed of the chair-and are pro vided with shoulders or abutm ents b, across which the rails haunch. The chairs are to be thick enough and broad enough to withstand any pressure that might be brought upon them by the expansion ofthe rails in the hottest weather.

The longestchair H for a three-throw switch should have a bed from one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches thick, and from twelve` to fourteen inches wide, and the shoulders or abutments b should be as thick as the bed and two and one-half inches wide. Through the abut-ments b and the ends ofthe rails are placedA horizontal wrought-iron keys d, about one-half inch thick by one and one-half wide, so as to withstand the contraction of the rails, and thus l prevent disjointing ofthe switch.

Havingthus fully described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- .l i

l. In combination with the sliding rails D D of a railroad switch, the stationary cheek-rails G hereunto set` my hand this 9th day of October,`

Witnesses:` WILLIAM L. MARTIN.

O. L. EVERT, f B. H. BAILEY. (120) 

